Article aligning fixture with quickacting clamping devices



R. D. BERG 2,955,820 ARTICLE ALIGNING FIXTURE wrm QUICK-ACTING CLAMPINGDEVICES Oct. 11, 1960 Filed Feb. 10. 1958 ARTICLE ALIGNING FIXTURE QUICKACTING CLAMPING DEVICES Richard D. Berg, Westchester, Ill., assignor toWestern Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation ofNew York Filed Feb. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 714,413

3 Claims. Cl. 269-155) This invention relates to an article-aligningfixture and more particularly to a fixture having quick-acting devicesfor latching and clamping articles thereto.

An object of the present invention is to. provide a holding devicefor'eifecting a quick latching and clamping engagement between itselfand an article.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an aligning fixturehaving quick-acting devices thereon for latching and clamping an articlethereto.

With these and other objects in view, the invention contemplates amember for supporting a first component of a composite article andhaving means for aligning the first component and a second componentapplied to the first. Latching and clamping .devices are provided onopposite ends of the member for holding the first component and themember together and each device includes a hooked latch engageable withthe first component and pivotally mounted on one end of a lever which ispivotally secured intermediate its ends on the member and has a thumbscrew threadedly mounted in theother end thereof for actuating thelever, whereby after the fixture and the first component are broughtinto engagement with each other and the latches are hooked over thefirst component, the thumb screws may be turned to actuate the leversand move the latches toward the member to clamp the first componentthereto.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent byreference to the following detailed description thereof and theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of the aligning fixture with clamping devicesembodying the invention and showing in dotted lines components of anarticle to be assembled thereon;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the aligning fixture and clampingdevices and showing the components of the article in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the fixture taken on the line 33 ofFig. 2 and showing in dotted lines the components of the article to beassembled thereon;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional viewof the aligning fixture and clamping device taken on the line 44 of Fig.1; and

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the fixture taken on the line 55 ofFig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, a fixture selected to illustrate oneembodiment of the invention has articlealigm'ng elements thereon and isused for aligning a plate component 12 and a hollow rectangularcomponent 14 in a predetermined position relative to each otherpreparatory to securing the components to each other. The fixture 10comprises a base member 16 in the form of a bar having a fiat uppersurface in engagement with the plate 12 and having a pair of upwardlydirected aligning pins 17 engageable in apertures in the plate 12 for10- cating the plate in a predetermined position on the member 16. Agage 18 on the member 16 extends upwardly through a central aperture inthe plate 12 and United States Patent F 2,955,820 Pareated Oct. 11, 1966has end elements 19 andra side surface 20 engageable with the end wallsand a rod 21, respectively, of the component 14 to locate the componentin a predetermined position on the plate 12. During the assembly of thecomponents 12 and 14, the plate component 12 is supported along oppositelongitudinal edges thereof on a pair of standards 22 (Figs. 1 and 3) andthe fixture is applied to the underside of the plate 12. V

A latching and clamping device 24 is provided at each end of the basemember 16 for effecting the ready attachment of the fixture to the plate12, or vice versa, and the quick clamping of the plate 12 to the basemember '16 of the fixture. Each of the devices 24 is disposed in anaperture 25 in the end portions of the member 16 and comprises anupstanding latch 26 pivotally connected at its lower end by a pin 28 toone end of a lever 30.

This lever is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a pin 32secured tothe member 16. A thumb screw 34, threadedly mounted in athreaded aperture 35 in the other end of the lever, has an endengageable with an abutment portion 36 of the member 16 and has anenlarged head 38 by means of which it may be turned to actuate thelever. The upper end of the latch is hook shaped and has a sloping camsurface 40 by means of which the latch is oscillated outwardly by theplate 12 as the plate and the fixture 10 are brought together, and thelatch 26 has a shoulder 41 engageable with the upper surface of theplate 12 for holding the plate 12 against movement away from the basemember 16. The lever 30 is Z-shaped as viewed from the side (Fig. 4) andhas a recess for supporting a spring 44 which urges the latch 26 into anormal position'in the-path of movement of the plate component 12 andfor yieldably maintaining the latch in locking engagement therewith. Aspring 46, supported in a recess in the abutment portion 36 of the basemember 16, stresses the lever 30 for rotation tending to raise the latchto a normal operative position.

In the operation of aligning the components 12 and 14, the platecomponent 12 is positioned horizontally on the upper end of thesupporting standards 22 and the aligning fixture 10 is positionedbeneath the plate component 12 and raised into engagement therewith tocause the gage 18 of the fixture to project through the central apertureof the plate 12, the pins 17 to engage the aligning perforations in theplate 12, and the latches 26 to be cammed outwardly and snapped intolatching engagement with opposite edge portions of the plate 12. Withthe latches 26 latched onto the ends of the plate component 12, thefixture is loosely interconnected therewith. The operator may then turnthe thumb screws 34 to rock the levers 30 which move the latches 26downwardly and cause them to pull the plate 12 and the memher 16 intofirm clamping engagement with each other. The arrangement of the partsissuch that the thumb screws 34 need be turned through only a relativelysmall movement, less than one revolution, to eifect the clamping of theplate 12 to the base member 16.

Although the quick-acting latching and clamping device 24 is disclosedherein as being applied to an aligning fixture, it is manifest it may beapplied to or form a part of various fixtures for latching and clampingparts thereto. It is to be understood that the above-describedarrangements are simply illustrative of the application of thisinvention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by thoseskilled in the art which will embody the principles of the inventionand'fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for clam-ping an article, a member to which the articleis to be clamped, a lever pivotally supported intermediate its ends onsaid member, a latch pivotally mounted at one end to one end of thelever and

